


The 4400 - Survival of the Safest

by RegalGirl94



Series: 4400 [2]
Category: The 4400 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fanfiction, OC insert, Original Character-centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Relationships, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:42:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28296972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RegalGirl94/pseuds/RegalGirl94
Summary: A year after The 4400 were returned by scientists from the future, the present is left to adjust. Including Rhiannon Mitchell, adjusting to the 2000s from her life in the 80s, and her life as a telepath, searching for a purpose. Does she find it within NTAC? Or on the outside?
Series: 4400 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1904446
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, here's a recap/prologue for the second season of my 4400 fanfiction! I've finished up the rough draft of the whole season and will be proofing chapter by chapter and posting. Hope you guys like it!

Out of sight—out of mind. At least that's what they say. Whoever the hell 'they' are. But there's no saying for out of time. But that's what we were—that's what we are. Out of time.

I can't really think of something to say to make up for that. There's nothing to say to make the uprooting of our lives okay. Our lives were ripped out from under us and though it's been said that it must be for a reason—I can't think of any reason good enough, and there's nothing foreseeable on the horizon that seems worth it.

_Suddenly a white light erupted in the sky over me. I lifted my other arm to shield my eyes from the brightness. But in the next second, I was gone._

I lost sixteen years, my brother, my parents, all my friends, my home—everything. Then I woke up on a beach on a mountain with thousands of other people in my exact same shoes. We just... appeared. After years away, we just appeared out of nowhere. And then we had to get re-acclimated into society years after we'd disappeared.

And even if that wasn't enough—some of us came back different.

_"The 4400 menace?" Shawn read out loud, incredulously, "I know this guy. I was in quarantine with him."_

_"They're saying he killed someone, just by thinking about it," Danny said._

* * *

_Tom, Diana and Marco gathered in the Theory Room back at base. Tom paced frustrated, "Goddam serial killer. This guy murders eight people before he's abducted. They send him back, he picks up where he left off."_

_"In '83, Knox was your garden variety psychopath," Marco elaborated, "They sent him back enhanced. Big difference."_

_"Well, it makes whoever took him sound pretty nasty," Diana quipped._

* * *

_"I never meant to scare anyone," Maia frowned, coloring with a green crayon in an interview room with Tom and Diana._

_"We know that, sweetie," Tom told her gently, "But why did you say those things to Mrs. Krause about her daughter?"_

_"Because they're true," Maia answered simply._

_"But how did you know?" Tom elaborated._

_Maia kept coloring, "I just do."_

* * *

_"You did it," Rio answered him simply. Shawn stared at her dumbly, not understanding. "That night at the hospital when you came in to see me. You touched my hand, and then suddenly all the pain was gone, even my headache. And then the next morning the doctor came in to change my bandage and there was no wound."_

_Rio stepped closer into his side leaning up to kiss his lips, "You healed me, Shawn... you have a gift."_

* * *

_Davey shifted in his seat across the room. He shrugged, "I'm... different."_

_"Different?" Ben repeated, "Different how?"_

_"I know things," Davey answered, "When I touch people—I know everything about them. I know everything about your life while I was gone. I knew when you hugged me. It just... happens."_

* * *

_Rio sighed, "I don't know what's happening to me—whatever they did to me. They changed me."_

_"They?" Diana asked._

_"Whoever took us!" Rio raised her voice, "The aliens—the scientists—whoever it was! They changed me."_

_"Changed you how?" Tom asked her._

_"I can hear people when they're not talking," Rio told him near tears, "I hear what they're hearing. And it's so painful. But I can't turn it off!"_

And most of us lost much more than time...

_"So they found your family," Shawn changed the subject, "They must be thrilled to hear you're alive."_

_"If only," Rio muttered, clutching the photograph, "They're all dead."_

_Shawn gaped at her, before frowning solemnly, "Oh my god—I'm sorry."_

* * *

_The little blonde girl, Maia, appeared one the screen. She looked sad, "They're dead aren't they?"_

_"This is Maia Rutledge," Diana informed her partner, "She was the first one to disappear, as far as we can tell. She was eight years old, only she was born in 1938."_

_"I'll be okay," Maia frowned, "Mostly."_

* * *

_"Nice tattoo," Shawn commented, noticing the red ink heart and black letters on Richard's arm, "Who's Lily?"_

_Richard glanced at the tattoo and frowned, "A girl I used to know."_

* * *

_"Dominic Bello was a wonderful and giving man," an older gentlemen that Alice barely recognized as Dominic's High School best friend, Ralph, spoke the last speech at Dominic's memorial service._

_She stood over her husband's casket and let Teddy hold the flower in her hand. "Do you want to drop the flower for Daddy?"_

_Teddy hummed over his pacifier as his little hand released the flower from his grasp and it fell in slow motion towards the casket, landing softly among the red roses as the casket was lowered into the ground._

But it wasn't so bad, I guess. I met some new friends. Even if they were peculiar. There was Maia, a small blonde girl who disappeared over twenty years before me. She seemed to just... know things.

_"Hey there, Maia," Rio greeted the little girl as she approached her, "What's up?"_

_"It's almost four," Maia told her._

_Rio looked up at the clock distractedly, "Oh—right. I need to go take a pill." She went to stand up but paused and faced the little girl, "How'd you know that?"_

_Maia shrugged and walked away, leaving Rio to watch after her a little perturbed._

She ended up moving in with Homeland Security Agent Diana, and they've been happy together. At first it was hard, juggling a position at Homeland Security and a member of the 4400 in your home. It was difficult to find a place for Maia to stay. But eventually Maia found her own caretaker, a woman from her own era—even her own year, 1946.

Her name is Alice, she and her baby boy Theodore disappeared six months after Maia, in Eureka, California. Alice's husband grew old while she was away and died soon after she got back. At least they got to say their goodbyes. Alice decided to come back to Seattle after the service and her late husband's grandson, Ethan, decided to go with her and take care of her. The two had become close friends—and they eventually grew into more.

_"He told me that I was his soul mate," Alice explained, looking into Ethan's eyes, "But that we all have room in our hearts for more than one love. And he said... to find someone to love."_

_"Do you think you will?" Ethan asked her seriously._

_"I think I already have," Alice whispered, looking him in the eye. They slowly leaned closer and closer until their lips brushed together, flood gates of emotion pouring into their first kiss as lovers._

Most of us came back to nothing—like me. Luckily, I found a new home with the Hudsons. George and Sarah were happy to open their home to me and I eventually began to think of it as my own home as well. At first it was strange... sleeping in a bed that wasn't my own, waking up in a house that I didn't grow up in. It was all bizarre. I got used to it, and eventually I even felt welcomed. Eventually, I even got comfortable enough to start thinking of them as family.

_Nikki weakly laughed, yet still smiled after, and smiled at Rio, "Thank you, Rhiannon. You always seem to know exactly what to say to make me feel better." She twisted her fingers together, "Over the past couple months you've been living here, I've started to think of you as a sister. Is that weird?"_

_Rio laughed, the sound mimicking a scoff, "No—that's not weird. That's actually kinda boss."_

_"I'm still not used to your old slang," Nikki laughed, "Boss is good, right?"_

_Rio rolled her eyes, "Yes, dear, boss is good."_

Yes, I made quite a few new friends since coming back. But one stood out... Shawn.

Shawn was my best friend. He was there for me from the beginning. Since we woke up on that beach and he helped me up off the ground when I fell. Since his touch calmed me down during a break down in quarantine.

_Shawn caught sight of some of the guards rushing toward her with syringes. He jogged to her and grabbed her elbows like he had the night they all ended up at the mountain, "Hey, you gotta calm down, or I'm sure somewhere they've got a rubber room with your name on it."_

_"Whatever," Rhiannon spat at him, "It's not like I haven't been locked up in one before."_

_Shawn pressed his hand to her chin to make her look up at him, "You'll get whatever you want if you just calm down, okay?"_

_Rhiannon felt a bolt of energy hit her, calming down her nerves as she stopped fidgeting, "Okay."_

* * *

_Shawn sat slouched in a seat at a table, watching the news talk about court appeals for their release when he heard, "Excuse me?"_

_He turned to see the girl who had the freak out, timidly approaching him where he sat. He smiled disarmingly at her, "Hey, how are you feeling since last week?"_

_The girl took a seat next to him and smiled sarcastically, "I've got some new twenty-first century happy pills now. Pretty bitchin. I'm Rhiannon Mitchell—Rio for short."_

_Shawn shook her hand, "Shawn Farrell."_

He was the one who made it possible for me to live with the Hudsons, right next door to him. He was always there to talk. But he held his own feelings back, his own insecurities. We both had a hard time adjusting to the changes in the world. He was only gone three years, but I think to him it felt like three decades. I knew he felt like a stranger in his own home. His brother treated him like an alien and all people did at the High School was point, whisper, and stare at us. It made him feel like a freak.

_"Fine, you want to hear about my shitty life?" Shawn asked her, growing angry, "My dad's never around, all my mom does is stare at me, my Uncle thinks I did something to Kyle to make him this way and my brother hates that I'm back. You are the one and only good thing in my life. Everything else is a shitty world filled with three years worth of gaps I can't catch up to and I feel like such a pussy because people like you and others have a decade or more to catch up to and you're fine."_

But I found ways to help him and he found ways to help me. We helped each other. We were there for each other. We loved each other.

_"I love you, Shawn."_

_Shawn breathed out in disbelief, but smiling at her like the sun shined in her eyes, "I love you, Rhiannon."_

_They simultaneously leaned towards each other like attracted magnets until their lips met together in the middle, brushing together again and again until they saw stars behind their closed eyelids._

But somewhere along the way I lost him. Shawn was looking anywhere for some kind of sign that he belonged somewhere—that he had a calling. And Jordan Collier just happened to have some manufactured answers for him.

_He paused, his front coming to face Shawn and Rhiannon, "You listen to the news, you read the paper, you hear the talk. It seems like the entire world is turning against us." Returnees around started to whisper in agreement. But Rio kept her eyes narrow and trained on Collier, "Well, what are we going to do about it? Are we gonna give up? Run and hide? Maybe. Or maybe, just maybe, we build a world of our own."_

* * *

_"I know you're feeling confused, and I can't blame you. But it sounds to me like you've been given a gift."_

_Shawn glanced down at Rio with a small smile, "That's what she calls it."_

_Collier smiled at the young girl, "Well, she's right. And this gift, don't let it scare you. You will find the right way to use it."_

_Shawn retreated into thought, "Okay."_

And I guess that all sounded perfect to Shawn—a whole new world for the 4400 to live apart from the rest of the world. It all sounded like a scam to me. And while that may be a result of being jaded from the eighties, I could never shake the dreaded feeling Jordan Collier always gave me when we met. I didn't trust him from the beginning. The problem was that Shawn did. And when Shawn's gift almost killed his brother and his family looked at him like a monster—Jordan Collier provided him with an escape. But he stole Shawn away from me.

_"You're the only good thing that's happened to me since I've been back," Shawn told her sincerely, "But I can't stay here and you won't want to come where I'm going."_

_"Where is that?" Rio asked as he pulled his face from her hands and walked around his car to the drivers seat, "Where are you going, Shawn?"_

_"I can't tell you," Shawn replied as he opened the door._

_"Too late," Rio growled as the thought entered his head, "You thought of it as soon as I asked you. You can't seriously go to him, Shawn. He can't be trusted."_

_"I have no where else to go!" Shawn shouted at her._

_Rio rushed to him, holding the car door open from his trying to get in the car and drive away, "No—just calm down. Let's talk about this."_

_A tear escaped from her eye as Shawn looked down at her, "I love you, Rhiannon. I love you so much."_

_"Then stay with me," Rio whispered, "This isn't right-"_

_"I can't," Shawn told her, "I need to get away from here."_

_"But it's not right if you're away from me," Rio told him crying._

_Shawn frowned painfully, feeling tears in his own eyes, "I told you I would hurt you. I love you, Rio," he leaned down and pressed his lips firmly onto hers. He pulled away just as quickly and yanked the door closed after he took his seat, starting the car._

_Rio slammed her hand against the glass of the window, "Don't do this, Shawn. You can't trust that guy—I promise you that. Please just get out of the car!"_

_He didn't listen as he pulled away from the sidewalk, avoiding hitting her as she backed away from the car, tears raining down her face uncontrollably._

_"What happened?" she whipped her head to see Nikki standing there uncertainly, "I heard shouting."_

_"What happened?" Rio asked her dangerously, "What happened? You told Danny that you fell for my boyfriend. Danny came at him, punching him and they got into a fight. Now Susan and Danny hate us—and Shawn's run off to join a cult. That's what happened, Nikki—are you happy?"_

_Nikki frowned, feeling the sting of guilt and tears in her eyes as she saw the utter heartbreak she caused her surrogate sister, "I'm so sorry."_

_Rio ran a hand through her curls, clenching her eyes shut briefly, "Why? Why does this shit happen? This was supposed to be a second chance for all of us. And everything just turns to shit anyway."_

_"I know there's nothing I can say to make this better," Nikki started softly, "But I-"_

_"No," Rio cut her off angrily, walking to the Hudsons' house, "There's nothing you can say."_

It's been about six months since then. I've forgiven Nikki. It wasn't her fault that she fell for Shawn and her boyfriend overreacted. It wasn't her fault that Shawn's mom and brother turned on him. And it wasn't her fault that Shawn ran away.

I haven't seen or heard from Shawn since. But I had come home a few times and found flowers in my room that had been delivered while I was away, with a nondescript note that only ever held three words—I love you.

Those were all I had for a while. I had tried to go to the 4400 center to see him, to beg him to come home. I was prepared to tell him that we could get our own place together. In another town. That I would be willing to start a whole new life, despite what I heard on that beach with Tom and the future man in Kyle's body telling me about my important role in time. But I had been stopped at the gate. They told me that Shawn had me on a list of people not to be allowed inside. I had been so devastated. He abandoned me so readily. It hadn't even been a month when I went to the center, but he was already beyond saving.

After months of the flowers growing fewer and farther between, I decided I could only move on. I had to find my calling. And I think I might have. My ability allowed me to link especially with members of the 4400. And I got the chance to use those abilities to help people, returnee or not.

And I just felt indescribably drawn to the idea—helping people with my ability. It gave me a chance to grow and see that something good could actually come from what happened to me. And it was only confirmed that I was meant to be doing this when Shawn's Uncle Tom and I found out what really happened to us.

_"I come from a different time," Kyle answered, "That is all. Your future."_

_"I was right..." Rio breathed, "This is all part of some plan—putting us all here with what we can do, to create some sort of ripple effect and change the future."_

_"We needed you all," Kyle confirmed for her._

_"For what?" Tom asked._

_"To survive," Kyle told them grimly, "In my time, humanity is dying out."_

_Tom and Rio stared at him in shock. Tom spoke, "You mean it's all going to end? Everything?"_

_"Only those we took could prevent the catastrophe from happening," Kyle explained, "That's why they've been altered and seeded back into the time line."_

_"Why take us and put us here and this moment?" Rio asked him._

_"Because history tells us this is where the path to oblivion began," Kyle stared out at the trees._

_"And the people you took are gonna stop that from happening?" Tom posed for him, "How?"_

_"Rhiannon and the others have already begun their work. And you have begun yours," Kyle assured them._

So, I knew I had work to do. I had people to help. So, I put Shawn to the back of my mind and focused on moving on with my life. Things were only about to get more complicated in my life though.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a year, and everyone has moved on as much as they could, still trying to figure out life. Rio tries to do good with her gift.

CHAPTER ONE

Whispers. Screams. Shouts. It all filtered into Rio's head as she navigated for the right one. Her eyes were shut as she concentrated until finally, they opened. "Jennifer."

The woman seated two chairs down from her looked up sharply. Her nervous eyes jumped from person to person in the room all sitting around in a circle in the stereo-typically uncomfortable fold-out chairs. "Yes?" Her accent was thick, French.

Rio smiled at her encouragingly. "You want to talk about France in the 1950s? Why you didn't go back?"

Jennifer shifted in her chair uncomfortably. "No... no..."

"Yes, you do," Rio answered for her, knowingly. "And you can. We are not here to judge, we're here to listen, that's all."

Jennifer's neck cracked as she tilted her head in thought before listening, spilling all she missed of her home country, and her time, and telling everyone her family had moved on without her so decided to stay in Seattle.

Rio had watched the clock and noticed their time was almost up when Jennifer was finished. "Okay, guys, I want you to think about something for next time. I know it is hard on everyone, being here without any real niche to call our own unless it's spelled out to us. There are new jobs, new people, new rules, new social constructs that we don't even know where to begin. But I want you to think of what your lot in life was wherever you came from, really think about, define it your own way. And we're gonna roll with that at the next meeting."

Everyone stood and folded their own chair, putting them away in the large gym. Some stopped by Rio and shook her hand, thanking her again. The group fluctuated from week to week. Mostly, new people showed up. Some stopped coming when they didn't need to anymore. Sometimes it was a sad thing. But it was her goal to get them to that good place.

After the new boss started at Homeland, Rio lost out on getting a position there. But sometimes she snuck in to check on Kyle. She'd scanned his mind about a million times over the past few months to make sure he was himself, and he was. But NTAC wasn't as sure.

She was about to walk out to her car when she noticed a little boy sitting of the curb. She paused when she recognized him as Davey Summers, the little boy who sat across from her in the circle and didn't speak. She had let herself into his mind and knew he was dealing with some pretty heavy stuff for a ten-year-old. But she could also sense he wasn't ready to talk about it just yet, so she never pushed him. It was probably just helpful for him to be around others like him. To not feel out of place.

"Davey?" she called out to him, grabbing his attention as she walked up to sit next to him. "What are you still doing here?"

"Ben's late," he answered simply.

"Oh," she hummed, pursing her lips. "Is he at work?"

Davey looked at the blacktop asphalt of the parking lot. "He doesn't have a job anymore. They fired him because I'm his brother."

She looked at the kid sharply. "What makes you think that?"

"Once I came to his work to say hi," he murmured. "I accidentally touched his boss's hand and I asked him how his sick daughter was. Ben had to tell him I was part of the 4400. And he was fired a week later."

"And you feel responsible, don't you?" she asked, already knowing the answer. She waited for his heavy nod before continuing. "Well, you're not. People's reactions to your status is not your fault or responsibility. You can't control what people think of you."

"You can," Davey muttered, grinning at her briefly.

She rolled her eyes. He was a smartass, apparently. "I don't. The point is that it is not your fault. You can't feel responsible for what happens to your brother the way he's responsible for you. It's different – you're the kid. Coming back, I don't know yet what it means for you, but it can be your chance to be the kid again. So, be a kid."

He nodded mutely just as a green car started driving into the parking lot. "That's him."

She looked up at the car briefly before standing up. "Okay, I gotta head home. You gonna be okay, squirt?"

Davey nodded, standing up himself. "Yeah. Thanks."

She ruffled his hair, smiling. "No problem, kid. Same time next week."

* * *

"How did it go?" Alice asked, smiling widely at the matching smiles on Diana and Maia's faces as they stood at her apartment door.

Maia smiled even more brightly. "I am officially adopted."

Alice laughed at her excitement, hugging the girl and ushering her into the house where her baby boy was running around, giggling.

"Was it awkward?" Alice asked her 'boss'. "Having to explain how she lost her second sight?"

"I think it made her a little uncomfortable, but she's been a happier kid in the dark," Diane commented. "Call me if you need anything. I had to report to HomeSec an hour ago."

Alice grinned mischievously. "Got another partner to scare away?"

Diane smirked back. "Always."

* * *

Rio hummed under her breath as she helped herself to the leftover dinner for a late lunch after getting back to the house from her group therapy session that afternoon. She had been holding these sessions for members of the 4400 for nearly three months now. It was a rewarding way to spend her time, and it gave her the purpose she wanted – to help those like her.

She was still petitioning Homeland Security to give her that consultant position. Ryland was completely open to the idea, as long as she went through basic training. But he went to D.C. and was replaced with some other woman who wasn't interested in working with a 4400. It made her want to legitimize her work somehow. Maybe she could use HomeSec's continuing 'support' of the 4400 to go to college. She took her G.E.D and got good results. She could go to community college and then medical school or something. She was just daunted by the amount of time she would have to spend in school, and the fact that school was too easy for her since she could read the Professors' minds for the test answers.

She was still searching for what she wanted to do and what she was willing to work for.

You're so sweet. You're the only person here who doesn't want me dead. I wish I could take you with me when I go, but I can't. They only want me. I'll be leaving soon. Very soon.

Rio groaned as the tension headache began to build in her temples. Randomly, she'd hear some of the 4400's thoughts or conversations if the link was strong enough. She didn't pay them any immediate attention unless they sounded dangerous or in danger. She'd channeled this girl a few times – her name was Tess Doerner, who disappeared back in 1955. Mostly, she just seemed crazy. She was even in an asylum. She seemed to be convinced that whoever took them was taking her back.

It had been almost a year since everything with Kyle and Tom and Shawn went down. She hadn't seen or spoken to Shawn since he ran away. But she heard through the 4400 grapevine that he was becoming some kind of secret Healer with Jordan. She wanted to believe he thought he was doing the right thing, but she still didn't trust anything that involved Jordan.

Tom got benched to a desk position within HomeSec for going apeshit on the agent that took Kyle and holding a gun to him. It was completely ridiculous in her opinion. They also had Kyle locked up in his own HomeSec suite, doing endless tests and such on him since he was sharing a brain with a future person. That part was barbaric in her opinion. Still, she knew she could do a lot of good within HomeSec walls rather than on the outside.

Meanwhile, she worked at a bookstore in the neighborhood for her own cash and held the group therapy sessions in a High School multipurpose room. It was a nice gig, since she could delve into customer minds and be able to direct them towards the books they wanted or needed pretty easily. And she didn't need to disclose her status as a 4400 in order to be hired. Her employers didn't seem to care.

The phone rang and she checked the caller ID to see that it was Tom. She grabbed the land line off its holder and answered, "Hey Tom."

"Hey, just checking in," his voice answered her. "How was group today?"

"It went pretty smoothly, got three new customers," she said while putting her cold food into the microwave to warm it up.

"That sounds nice." Something in his voice seemed off.

"Oh no," she hummed. "I don't have to be a mind reader to know something's wrong. Is it Kyle?"

Tom sighed. "They want to do another cat-scan. I had to talk him into it. He's getting really frustrated."

"No one can blame him. It's been a year, we all know that future man isn't in that noggin' anymore," she answered patiently, used to being a sounding board for these conversations. "I could even scan him again if you like. Not that they'll let me in that building. But what they'd never know, won't hurt them."

"If I had any pull left, I'd get you in here with us," Tom promised. "We need people like you who actually want to help."

"Well, I'll be ready when they finally give in." Rio grinned as she pulled her food out of the beeping microwave. "I was thinking of getting basic training now, you know? Self-defense and the like. Members of the 4400 still cry out to help from me and each time I get into a fight, I have to use my powers just to make it an equal fight."

"How many times has this happened?" Tom asked with a certain protective edge to his voice. "You can't run around like some mind control vigilante. I don't know how the new boss is going to respond if you get too out of hand."

"Then maybe she should hire me," she answered in her usual smart-ass way.

"She should, but you know how people are," Tom said. "Anyway, I was just calling for a quick check in. I gotta get back to the desk piled with endless paperwork to keep me out of the way."

"You know Diana and the others are going to get you reinstated soon enough," Rio told him. "Keep your chin up and tell Kyle hi for me."

"Will do," he promised before hanging up.

* * *

Rio went to work later that night and was manning the front counter when her manager walked by. He was a stout friendly man, like a more in-shape Santa Claus, named Tim. He was always nice to her and knew of her 4400 status but didn't care much.

"How was Saturday morning therapy?" he asked with a chuckle in his eye.

She rolled her eyes at his eagerness. "It went just fine, Tim."

"Better than here," he chortled. "Fiona just quit."

"Seriously?" Rio asked, shocked. "She handed in her notice?"

"Not even that," Tim grumbled. "She just told me she was driving across the country with this guy she met. I'd call her parents, but technically, she's an adult."

"She's eighteen, and a naive eighteen at that," Rio commented.

"Either way, we're out an employee that I need to hire ASAP," Tim answered.

Rio perked up as an idea struck her. "What would you say if I knew of someone who needed a job? I can't tell you anything specific because I know this through group."

"Get whoever it is to come in and I'll will hand them the T-shirt," Tim replied joyfully.

"They have a relative like me, Tim," Rio warned.

He waved her off. "Like I care. I'm a desperate man. And lonely, but that's beside the point."

Rio laughed. "I'll hook it up."

* * *

Ethan was trying to quietly let himself into his apartment late that night. The books got all screwed up at the restaurant and he was adamantly against bringing his work home with him. When he turned on the light, however, an amused and tired looking Alice was on the couch. "Welcome home, honey."

Ethan cringed. "I'm so sorry I couldn't pick you up today. Did you have to take the bus?"

She shook her head. "No, Diana drove us home. And I'm the one who insisted we didn't need two cars. Was work a zoo tonight?"

"Just a lot of book work," he said. "It should let up after tonight. How late were you at work today?"

"Diana was on time," she answered as he practically fell onto the couch next to her. She lifted her hands up to the nape of his neck and started massaging the muscles there.

He groaned. "This feels great, thank you."

She laughed. "You work too hard."

"So do you," he said.

"Maia is an easy kid, I'm practically still a housewife," she joked. "Teddy has been talking more and more though. Full sentences and everything. He missed you at bedtime though."

"Did he say it?" Ethan asked with a bit of excitement.

Alice smiled gently. "Yeah, he kept asking for dada."

The couple, after nearly half a year together, went through their first road bump when Teddy started calling Ethan 'dada.' Alice felt like a horrible mother for allowing her baby to forget his birth father since Dominic passed away. But Ethan assured her that they would never let Teddy forget that Dominic was his real father, but Ethan could be a father figure in his life. He would always be there for the baby boy that he had grown to love, just as he would always be there for Alice, the girl he had grown to love.

Ethan smiled as he leaned in to give her a kiss. "I love our life."

* * *

Rio was super excited when Tom called to tell her that he had gotten reinstated to active field duty and that he convinced the boss lady to let him bring Kyle home – to his new house. Things didn't work out between him and Linda, so she left Seattle and he bought a new house. Rio was flitting around his new kitchen, making a hardy lunch for him and Kyle to welcome them both to their new home. She made mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, and ordered pizza.

She heard voices carry into the kitchen. "This is your new house?"

"It's yours too."

She rushed to the front of the house just as she was setting the platter of mashed potatoes on the table. "Hey guys."

Tom smiled when he saw her and gave her a hug. "You didn't have to go to all this trouble."

"I only made a couple things, I ordered pizza," she assured him. She looked over at Kyle and held out her hand. "Hi, Kyle. I'm Rhiannon."

Kyle gave her a look as he recognized her name. "Oh, you're the girl who was on the beach, but not on the beach, right?"

Rio looked between him and Tom. She spoke through her teeth and a fake smile. "I didn't realize you were told that. In HomeSec. With cameras and microphones."

Tom patted her shoulder. "No worries, I left it out of the report and only told Kyle on the drive here."

What a relief. Bullet dodged. "Good shit," she said. "It's nice to meet the real Kyle though."

"It's nice to be the real Kyle," Kyle said.

Rio waved her hand over to the set table. "Well, dig into the food."

Kyle sat down at the table. Tom sniffed and hummed. "Smells good. But I gotta head back to HomeSec."

"You're leaving?" Kyle frowned. "I just got here."

"It's my job, buddy," Tom shrugged.

"I can stick around before work," Rio offered.

"Thanks." Tom smiled at her on his way out.

Kyle was a little awkward as he sat at the table. "So... you're one of them?"

Rio nodded, grabbing a piece of pizza and taking a bite. "Yeah, a pretty freaky one too."

"Freaky?" he repeated dubiously.

She winked at him. "I read minds, dude. Telepathy, telempathy. Whatever. Don't worry, though, I've got better control on it now."

Kyle gave a weak chuckle. "Great. Half the time, I don't know what's going on in my head. I can't imagine you'd have a hell of a time in there."

"It's stronger with other 4400s, the ones with abilities. But over the last year, I've gotten stronger with it. But let's not talk about all of that stuff. Are you excited to be back? I'm sure there's a long line of people who will want to see you."

He seemed more at ease with the change in subject. "Yeah, I'm gonna need to call my mom. Shawn's gonna freak too."

Rio smile fell at the mention of Shawn. A whole year and nothing more than a rose every once in a while, and a love note. And it had been months since the last one. She knew she wasn't going to see him again, and honestly; she didn't want to. He had abandoned her and never came back for her. She deserved better than that kind of treatment. So, she moved on.

"Did I say something?" Kyle frowned when he saw her look.

She shook her head. "I guess Tom didn't tell you, but… Shawn and I were really close when we got back from... wherever we were. And it, uh, didn't end well. You're his cousin, and I know he cares about you a whole hell of a lot, but, um, I don't know how much he could have changed. It's been a long time since I've seen him after he disappeared in Jordan Collier's cult."

"It's Shawn," Kyle guffawed. "I gotta go see him. Do you wanna come with?"

She shook her head again. "No, I'm done holding my breath for him. But I hope it goes well for you. Maybe you're what he needs to come back home."

* * *

Diana and Tom couldn't help but look back at the large metal tower the psych patients were building like drones as they were escorted into the hospital by the guy who ran it. He finally let them into Tess' room, the girl this all centered around.

Diana opted for the friendly role. "We saw some of the pictures you did, Tess. They're really good."

The girl brushed back her long brown hair and shushed her. "Shhh. They'll hear you. There're microphones in the walls. They broadcast by satellite to the submarines."

"Who does?" Diana asked.

"The doctors."

"The doctors here in the hospital?" Tom asked.

"Some of them are here in the hospital," she answered. "Some of them are stationed on the submarine."

"We'll just talk really softly," Diana offered.

Tess grinned, kneeling onto her bed. "They take my crayons away, but they're too late."

"Yeah? Why's that?" Tom asked.

"Because it's gonna get built anyway," she said. "They want me to get in touch with them. That's why they put the plans in my head." She pointed to her temple to emphasize her point.

Tom and Diana exchanged a look. Tom asked, "Um, now, are we talking about the doctors here in the hospital or the doctors under the sea?"

Tess gave him a look like he was an idiot. "Neither. We're talking about the people who took me. Stupid."

"So, the people who took you," Diana chimed in, "they want the patients here to build that tower?"

"They'll do anything to get me back," Tess urged. "They like me."

"Did you ask the other patients for help, Tess?" Tom asked.

Tess scowled. "I don't like talking to them. They're crazy."

"Was Arlo crazy?" Diana asked, referring to the hospital orderly that died falling off the roof trying to get a windmill off the top of the building.

"I never thought he was," Tess mused. "Maybe crazy is catching."

* * *

Alice was washing some dishes in the kitchen, keeping an eye out in the living room to see Maia playing with Teddy. But she blinked and he disappeared. Just before she could panic, she felt something tug on her pant leg and heard her little boy coo, "Mama, I wanna go up!"

She looked down to see him at her legs, holding his arms up. She slowly leaned down and pulled him up into her arms, holding him close. She looked back into the living room to see Maia staring back at her with a touch of confusion and knowing.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER TWO

The next day, Rio was cleaning her room when she heard Nikki call for her to come downstairs. She skipped down the stairs to see Nikki and Sarah sitting on the couch, watching the news. "What's going on?"

"Jordan Collier," Nikki said with a scowl.

"In breaking news, a revelation about the origins of the 4400," the newswoman spoke into her microphone. "In his newly published autobiography, former real estate agent, Jordan Collier, claims that the 4400 were abducted by human beings from the future. The book contains copies of classified government memoranda, that Collier says prove his claims. The documents are said to come from an anonymous source within the National Threat Assessment Command. According to Collier, the 4400 were returned to avert a catastrophe that threatens the survival of mankind."

"How does he know that?" Rio asked out loud before she could stop herself.

Sarah and Nikki looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Um, nothing," she perched herself on the arm of the couch as the news woman continued.

"Collier charges that the government has had this information for more than a year but has kept it secret in an effort to avert a public panic. The government claims that the documents are purely speculative and have been quoted out of context."

"Does this have something to do with your last episode?" Nikki asked. "When Kyle got better?"

Rio sighed and decided she may as well tell them the truth. "I may have talked to one of the future men through Kyle back when he was coma Kyle. I know no details. Just that I'm part of the bigger picture."

"What part?" Nikki asked, confused.

"I have no idea, guys." Rio shrugged as she checked her watch. "I have to head out to group."

The Hudson women obviously wanted to ask her more. But decided not to pry. "Okay, have fun, sweetie," Sarah called out after her as she headed out.

* * *

The new NTAC boss, Nina Jarvis, debriefed her room with no nonsense in her voice. "Did everybody hear that Mr. Collier's source, is anonymous no more? Agent Hubbard will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

"So, what about Collier?" Diana asked, thoroughly peeved by his actions.

"Can't buy national secrets on the black market," Tom commented.

Nina looked peeved too. "I'm sure we'd all like to see Collier charged with treason, but it's unlikely. I doubt we'll be able to trace the payments directly to him. Now, as for the so-called 4400 center – around the clock surveillance is in effect until further notice. I want pictures of everyone who comes within a hundred yards of that place."

"Is it true that Collier is filing for tax exempt status?" Agent Garitty asked.

Nina glowered even more. "Apparently."

"What, he's turned the 4400 into some kind of religion?" Tom asked.

"More like a cult," Garitty muttered.

Tom said back. "A cult is what the big congregation calls a little congregation."

"Cult, religion, whatever," Agent Lee murmured along. "What's he basing it on?"

"Have you read this thing?" Diana held up Collier's autobiography. "Collier claims that he can unlock the 4400 within anybody."

"So, he expects a guy punching a clock in Pittsburgh, to believe he has some kind of latent superpower?" Agent Lee asked, skeptical at best.

"Most of the 4400 don't even have those kinds of abilities," Garrity pointed out. "Not yet anyway."

"No," Diana agreed, "but if you thought there was a chance that you had an ability locked away inside of you..."

Nina gave her a look. "You sound like you're ready to sign up."

"No," she denied. "But I wouldn't blame anyone for being curious."

"Now, we keep telling the public, that biologically, the 4400 aren't any different than the rest of us," Tom insisted. "They haven't been altered genetically, neurologically."

"As far as we can tell," Garitty supplied. "But if Collier thinks that people are just gonna sign up their lives and their life savings over to some metaphysical pyramid scheme, then he's in for a rude awakening."

* * *

"So, in light of recent events, I want to talk about how we're all feeling about Collier's actions," Rio began group as calm as she could. "I'll start – I think he's a fraud, and that his 4400 center is a wolf in sheep's clothing. All he's done over the past year is cause trouble and push his own agenda with whatever means necessary, even illegal things."

"Right," a woman, Tia, spoke. "He got illegal info from the government and printed it. And now, he says he can make normal people like us – with abilities."

"That's impossible," a man, Nigel, spoke. "There's no way people outside of us have some kind of latent abilities."

"The possibility may seem alluring to a lot of people though," Rio said. "Put yourself in their shoes, maybe you're jealous of those of us that came back with extra abilities, maybe even resentful, maybe you want to feel special like them. And now, this very well-known mogul is offering you that chance. Can't you understand why some people may want that?"

"Do you..." Davey spoke up timidly, "do you think, if he can unlock powers in people, he can lock them too?"

This comment made the members of the group look at him. Rio tilted her head in concern. "Davey, does that mean you don't want your ability?"

Davey frowned and shrugged. "I don't know. It doesn't help anyone like yours does. It just makes everything confusing, and sometimes I don't like the things I find out."

"Davey," Rio sighed. "My ability was really confusing at first too. And really painful. Sometimes, it still is. It took a long time for me to learn how to control it and find a constructive use with it to help people."

For a moment, it was quiet. It took people time to get use to being around her, given what she could do. But eventually, she earned their trust and was able to help when she could.

"Now, I don't believe in God or anything. I grew up in the 80s with Hippie-Catholic parents and things happened in my life that made me believe that there was nothing up in the sky watching over us. So, I can't say what happened to us and what abilities we may or may not have are all part of some divine intervention. But I do believe there's a reason. Humans, not aliens or deities, took us and did what they did. I have to believe that there was a good reason. And I think we all owe it to ourselves to see that through for as long as we can."

There were some murmurs of agreement among the group, and conversation carried on until their time was up. They dispersed to leave or grab some refreshments. Rio was grabbing coffee when one of the group members walked over to hug her and thank her for creating this group. She smiled and excused herself when she saw Davey waiting by the door, looking at his cell phone.

"Is he late again?" Rio asked knowingly.

Davey nodded. "He went out to find another job. He doesn't mean to always be late."

Rio nodded. "I understand. He's working really hard to take care of you. He's only twenty, right?"

Davey nodded again. "Yeah. I feel bad. He's always taken care of me. Mom died when I was little. And dad never did anything. He was never nice to us. It's not fair."

Rio shuffled closer and put her arm around his shoulders. "You're right. It's not fair. But it's great of your big brother to take care of you the way he is. No one can blame him for it being hard. I may be able to help though."

Davey looked up at her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I work at this big bookstore not far from where I live," she began. "And someone just quit without notice, so we need a replacement pretty quickly. I talked to my boss; he has no problem with our 4400 status. So, if your brother wants the job, he's good to go."

Davey got excited just as a car pulled into the parking lot and stopped in the loading zone. "Really?"

Rio smiled and nodded. "Really."

Davey jogged over to the car and pushed his head through the passenger's side window, speaking quickly before racing back over to Rio's side. A young man lifted himself out of the driver's seat and walked over, seeming nervous. Without thinking on it, Rio swam through the very surface of his mind. All she saw was his need to provide for his little brother, and the love and devotion he had for little Davey. Ben was a good guy and deserved the job she was helping him get.

He looked a bit confused and nervous as he walked over. "Wow, I never thought I'd actually meet one of Davey's group."

"She _runs_ the group, Ben," Davey corrected.

Rio shook his hand. "I'm Rio."

Ben still seemed confused and a bit in awe. "I'm sorry – I was expecting someone older to have set all this up. You look my age."

Rio laughed. "I'm nineteen, but given everything that happened, I guess you could say I matured quickly. I think you can relate to that kind of situation."

Ben looked between her and Davey. "Yeah, I guess. Davey was babbling to me about a bookstore?"

"Yeah, yeah," she answered, before looking down at Davey. "Sweetie, you can wait in the car, I'm just going to tell your brother about the job."

"Okay," Davey smiled, his spirits higher than usual as he walked over to the car.

"So, I work at a bookstore," Rio told Ben. "My boss knows who I am and doesn't care, so he's not gonna care about you having Davey as a brother. It pays over minimum wage since it's a decent chain. And we're almost always understaffed so you'll get a lot of hours if you want."

"I still have to get Davey and watch him," Ben replied nervously.

"No school will take him?" Rio guessed.

Ben solemnly nodded. "Once they find out who he is, they find some way to not allow him in."

"Well, there's always online education for K through 12," Rio suggested. "And I can always take Davey after these group meetings to my house before work. I live with a really nice family, they took me in once we were all let out of quarantine, so I'm sure they'd be happy to entertain him while you have work and stuff."

"I don't know," Ben seemed wary. "I don't want him to impose so much."

"Sarah's empty nesting since Nikki is starting college and George is nearly always at work," Rio explained. "And I'm here or at work, so most of the time she's on her own or just me. I'm sure she'd love to have Davey around."

"I still feel weird assuming, and I'd like to meet who I'm leaving Davey with," Ben said a bit protectively. He had cause to be somewhat paranoid given who Davey is.

"Well, follow me home and we'll talk to her," Rio offered. "I promise she's a great lady."

Ben caved. "All right."

* * *

Tom, Diana and Marco huddled under an umbrella as they headed into the hospital. Marco gaped at the tall tower of metal. "You guys didn't tell me this thing was so big."

"It wasn't," Tom answered.

"Not yesterday," Diana added.

"Those don't look like patients to me," Marco commented as some uniformed orderlies joined in on the work.

Tom noticed the doctor they spoke with the day before at the base of the tower. "Dr. Clayton."

Dr. Clayton turned to look at them, seeming flustered. "I know what you're gonna say. We're falling behind. We'll make up the time this afternoon."

Diana looked around. "So, is the entire hospital working on this thing?"

"It's the only way to get it done," he said. He shuffled away, a drone like all the others.

Diana turned to Tom and Marco. "First the patients, now the staff. If this is some kind of mass hysteria, it's spreading."

"It does seem like some sort of mind control," Tom mentioned, his mind working. "Maybe we should consult with Rio on this one."

* * *

Rio pulled into her driveway next to Sarah's car and got out just as Ben parked on the street in front of the house. She let them all in and called out, "Sarah, I'm home. I've brought guests."

"I just finished cookies!" Sarah called back excitedly.

Rio laughed as she led Ben and Davey into the kitchen. "Sarah, this is Davey from group and his big brother Ben."

Sarah smiled and practically cooed at Davey. "Hello boys. How was group by the way?"

"A bit rough with Collier Jesus giving us a bad name," Rio quipped, grabbing a few water bottles for them. "Someone needs to put an actual human face on the 4400, not the cult leader Collier is."

Sarah gave her a long look.

Rio balked. "No. I am off the radar."

Sarah sighed. "So, what brings you boys here?"

"Actually," Rio answered for them, "I'm hooking Ben up with a job at my store. But Davey needs a place to kill time while he's at work. I thought maybe here would be good, since most after school programs won't take a 4400 member, not to mention most schools."

Sarah clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh, of course. It would be nice to have another kid in the house. Mind you, I raise girls, so if I'm too girly for you, just say the word."

Davey just laughed as she handed him a cookie. "Okay."

Rio's phone rang and she pulled it out. "It's Tom. Excuse me." She walked into the dining room and answered the phone, "Hey, Tom."

"Hey, we may need some of your expertise," his voice answered.

"What kind of expertise could you need from me?"

"Mind control," he answered.

Rio blanched at the term. "I don't do that anymore, Tom," she cautioned.

"I know, but you know how it works, at least with your ability," he stammered a bit. "We're at this asylum-"

"Wait, is it the one with Tess?" Rio interrupted him.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" he asked.

"I've been channeling her off and on for weeks now, but nothing, you know, dangerous," she explained. "She just tunes in with me every once in a while."

"You really can help us!" He seemed more excited now. "You see, we're at the asylum and the patients started building this big metal tower out of scraps. One of the orderlies fell off the roof and died trying to get a part for it. And today, the rest of the staff and the doctors are pitching in too. As if it's all normal. And it all seems to center around her. She's a 4400..."

"Who believes the people that took us are taking her back," Rio finished, knowing that much of Tess' thought process. "I just assumed she's crazy. But this sounds like some mass mind control. I don't even think I could control more than three minds at a time."

"That's the part that worries us," he said. "We've got some other field agents coming in to get these people away from the tower and back in the hospital. And we're taking Tess to HomeSec with us to try and see if that'll snap them out of it."

"What do you need me to do?" Rio asked.

"Maybe you can come in and consult," he suggested. "I mean, I can talk to Jarvis. Maybe if you're in the same room as her, you can tune into her mind and see what's going on."

"Will I even be let in the building?" she quipped.

"I'll run out a pass for you and we can convince Jarvis to take you on as a consultant," Tom offered. "I think you're our only shot to see what's really going on with her."

"Okay, I'll head over now then and call you when I get there," she said, hanging up after he confirmed.

She walked into the kitchen to see Sarah laughing with Ben and Davey. "Hey, guys, I gotta head out. Tom needs my help with a case."

"Are they finally letting you be a consultant?" Sarah asked, impressed.

"We'll see," Rio said with a careless shrug. "There's this girl who seems to be controlling a bunch of people's minds."

"Like you can?" Davey asked, earning a confused and slightly worried look from Ben.

"No, she's controlling masses of people," Rio corrected. "I can only have a hold on two or three people at a time. And that's if I _used_ that part of my abilities."

Davey nodded and Sarah pulled out another bottle of water and handed it to her. "Here you go. Be careful. Maybe you're immune to her since you have similar powers, but we can't be sure she won't get to you somehow."

"I'll be fine," she promised. She looked at Davey and Ben. "I hope everything works out. If it looks like I'm gonna be gone long, I'll just call Tim and you can go talk to him." She grabbed a note pad and wrote down the address of the store. "Here you go."

"Thanks for this, really." Ben seemed more at ease and grateful.

"It's no problem, Ben," she assured him. She kissed Davey's forehead before she left. "See you later, buddy."

* * *

Tom was able to quickly walk her up and hide her out in his and Diana's office just as Diana walked in. "I got the full physical work up on Tess."

"Let me guess," Tom said, "physically normal across the board."

"Nothing ever turns up on our tests," Rio contributed. "You can't catch our abilities on any scan."

"I'll say this for you guys." Diana slapped the file on her desk. "You're consistent."

Tom slid some pictures across his desk for Rio to look at. "Tess drew this picture of a tower or a monument."

"Or a beacon," Diana added.

"Then the people around her drop everything and start building it," Tom finished.

"Like her worker bees," Rio mused as she looked at the drawings.

"Or ants," Tom dawned with an idea. He quickly typed something up on his laptop and gestured for Diana and Rio to look at his screen. "The Queen secretes a chemical telling the other ants what to do."

"The drones don't stop working until the job is done," Diana read. "Doesn't matter if one of them dies or if a storm comes and washes away the ant hill."

"They just keep working," Rio read, "unless you take the Queen away. Well, you did that. Tess is here."

"Let's see what we can get out of her," Tom said, waving for Rio to come with him.

"It might not be a good idea to get too close," Diana cautioned, "because if your theory's right, anyone who gets too close to her, could be vulnerable."

"I don't think she can get to me," Rio guessed. "I mean, a mind controller controlling another mind controller? I don't think that's how it works."

"We'll have to see," Tom said. "Diana, you check with Garitty, we'll talk to Tess."

* * *

The minute Rio walked into the room, seeing Tess behind a glass window, the other girl excitedly approached the glass, pressing her palms onto it. "Oh my God, it's you. Rhiannon."

"You know her?" Tom asked, surprised at the turn things took.

Tess smiled like an innocent child. "You were so beautiful when we were there. All dressed in gold, a gold dress and robe."

"You mean where we were when we were gone?" Rio asked.

"With the doctors?" Tom added.

Tess nodded eagerly. "They're so much smarter than you, it isn't even funny."

"Yeah, no doubt," Tom chuckled, playing around. "They figured out how to take you and how to send you back."

Tess frowned at him. "Sending me back was a mistake and you know it. I'm supposed to be there."

"Where is there?" Rio asked. "I don't seem to remember it as clear as you do. It's all pretty fuzzy."

Tess leaned on the glass and sighed. "You will remember! There were doctors there. They were nice. All of them."

"Do you remember where you were taken?" Tom asked.

"We slept a lot," she spoke, ignoring his question, "but not all the time. We wore grey clothes. Except you, Rhiannon. They put you in gold, like them. There's a giant building. The doctors wore shiny jackets. I miss it so much."

"It sounds really nice," Rio said, smiling with her. "I wish I remembered."

"Our rooms had round windows," Tess continued. "Our doorways with arches in them. The stones had writing in them. Math symbols or something. Inscriptions. Jars of purplish metals and rods with stained tips. Sometimes I saw you walking around. Always with one of the doctors. You looked so beautiful and sometimes sad. They thought you were really important. You're supposed to be here, so you can save the world. But I'm supposed to be there. They're waiting to hear from me. I need to get in touch with them." She frowned and shrunk into herself, away from the window, no matter what Tom and Rhiannon tried to say.

Tom talked to her as they headed back to his office. "Did you get anything?"

"I can't tell if there's any substance with what she's saying, only that she really believes it all to be true," Rio said. "She really thinks that the people who took us want her back, or never meant to send her down with us. Everything she believes, the beacon plans, it's all an imprint on her brain. And it's definitely her controlling the others. I felt her powers but… couldn't submit to them. Also, she has no idea what she's doing."

What she didn't include, was that while peering into Tess' mind, she saw her own face. Through Tess' eyes, but not the way she looked right then. Not from their supposed first meeting. She almost didn't recognize herself.

"What do you mean?" Tom asked.

"The compulsion, the mind control, she doesn't know she's doing it," Rio said. "She's definitely the one controlling them, but she can't control herself. And it's not really mind control."

"What about any of this isn't mind control?" Tom asked incredulously.

"It's more like Knox than it is like me," Rio tried to explain plainly. "What I can do – make people do things whether they want to or not. That's mind control. But her and Knox—it's more like brainwashing. Knox convinced men that they were him so they thought like him and made choices that he would, but he didn't actually force any of them to do anything. Tess isn't forcing them. She's making them _want_ to obey. They're not mindless, but they're not in their right minds."

They made it into the office and Tom spoke to Diana, "We just had the most unbelievable conversation with Tess."

Diana was hanging up her desk phone. "Well, it couldn't be any more unbelievable than the one I just had with Garitty."

"What do you mean?" Rio asked, taking her seat.

"It looks like our agents are becoming drones themselves," Diana answered, solemn.

_The third angel blew his trumpet and a great sorrows fell from heaven, burning like a torch. Revelations 8:10._

Rio took a look around the office and the agents milling around outside. "Did you guys hear a tool reciting Bible verses?"

Diana and Tom gave her a look, both shaking their heads. Tom asked, "Are you channeling Tess?"

"No," she shook her head, closing her eyes and concentrating.

_The day they came back was the beginning of the end of times._

_Sounds like you've done a little more thinking on it than I have._

_Either remove the book from the store or my boy here will remove it for you._

"A 4400 is really nervous. There's an anti-4400 nut bar threatening a store owner because he has Collier's books on the shelves," she said. "She's scared."

"Where is she?" Diana asked. "Who is she?"

Rio flinched when she heard a table fall over, all the things on it crashing to the ground.

_Do you know what you're carrying there, woman?_

_It's just a book._

_It's a doorway to hell._

"Lily is there, Lily Tyler," Rio said.

"She and Richard disappeared over a year ago," Tom mentioned. "Can you tell where they are?"

Rio shook her head. "I'm not channeling Lily, though."

_That child yours?_

_It's my daughter._

_Abomination begets abomination._

Rio nearly collapsed onto the ground in fatigue and pain, suddenly in the store with Lily and her baby as the windows shattered around them and wind whirled everywhere, hurling the other men to the ground.

When she opened her eyes, she was back in the office with Tom and Diana leaning over her in worry. Tom helped her sit up and asked her what happened. She was breathing a bit heavily in discomfort. "I wasn't channeling Lily. I was channeling her baby girl – and she is more powerful than any other 4400 I've tuned in with before."


	4. Chapter 4

Rhiannon let herself into the Baldwin house with the spare key Tom gave her and an armful of groceries. "Kyle? You home?"

Kyle ambled down the stairs. "Hey, Rio, what are you doing here?"

"Your dad asked me to get some groceries for the house," she said, putting the bag on the kitchen counter. "He's wrapped up in this case and his boss isn't keen on me consulting yet. I guess I have to give her results for her to cave."

"You wanna work with my dad?" Kyle asked with a laugh as he started helping her put the food away in its proper place.

She shrugged. "He works 4400 cases, I'm a 4400. I helped out with a serial killer case over a year ago and I guess it gave me a taste of what I could do to help. Your dad offered to talk to his last boss about getting me a consultant position in his division. Would have worked too, but he was replaced by this lady that doesn't like the thought of a 4400 in her HQ."

"That sucks," Kyle commented.

"How did visiting Shawn go?" she asked for conversation, but secretly hoping to get some clue as to Shawn's well-being. She just wanted to know if he was okay.

Kyle scowled. "It didn't. They wouldn't let me see him. They even threw me out of the center."

She frowned. So much for that. "Sounds about right. Did the same thing to me when I went after him. That whole place is just this… brainwashing cult. It's bad news. You shouldn't go back."

"What about Shawn?" Kyle asked. "I can't leave him there."

"Shawn made his own choices," Rio pointed out. "I told him what kind of guy Collier is and he still left. You don't have to get sucked in too."

"But he doesn't know what he's gotten himself into," Kyle insisted. "What if he wants out and they won't let him?"

"I don't know what to tell you," Rio admitted. "I considered that but… if he really wanted to leave, I can't think of what they could do to stop him. So, I figured he's stopping himself. And I don't trust that place or anything that comes out of it."

* * *

"As of tonight, Abottson State Hospital is officially under quarantine," Nina announced to Tom, Diana and Marco. "The patients will remain locked down. Hospital staff and affected NTAC personnel will be confined to the site, until we've isolated the source of the compulsion."

"That sounds like a good plan, but who's gonna watch over them?" Tom asked. "The last group we sent was compromised within hours."

"Which is quite frankly, a little disturbing," Diana shuddered. "I mean if you think of this like an epidemic. If we were the CDC, we'd call Tess the sole disease factor. You remove her, you remove the urge to build. Except, as far as we know..."

"None of those agents had any contact with Tess," Tom finished.

"So, it's like the flu," Diana theorized, "or any other airborne virus. If you catch it, you can pass it on."

"Which is why I still believe we should bring Rhiannon in," Tom insisted. "She was immune to Tess' powers because of her own. And she's been instrumental before."

"She helped us take down the Friday Harbor Killer," Diana said in support. "And when Tom was in that trance with the guy from the future, he said she was very important in what they're trying to accomplish."

"None of that actually convinces me it would be a good idea to give her clearance here," Nina deadpanned. "Moving on, what is this tower supposed to be anyway?"

"My guess, and I cannot emphasize the word _guess_ strongly enough," Marco spoke cautiously, "is that Tess is telling us the truth. It's some kind of communication device."

"To contact who? The future?" Nina asked skeptically.

"The only way to find out is to let the patients finish building it," Tom said. "The night on Highland Beach, they were trying to tell us something. The conversation was cut short."

"Which is why we've been stumbling around in the dark this last year," Diana supplemented.

"Tess is the only 4400 who remembers where she was taken," Tom added.

"No, _claims_ to remember where she was taken," Nina corrected. "She's also the only paranoid schizophrenic, and it sounds to me like you two have been spending a little too much time around her."

"Well, maybe I caught the bug too, but I agree with them," Marco supported them.

"The quarantine orders for the hospital will remain in effect until further notice," Nina insisted, finality in her tone. "The guards will rotate shifts to minimize their exposure."

"So, where does that leave us?" Tom asked.

"Until we're sure the compulsion is not spreading anymore, you two aren't going anywhere near that facility," Nina ordered.

* * *

Shawn stormed into Jordan's office. "You never told me I was a prisoner."

Jordan seemed nonplussed. "Have you ever seen a prison cell, Shawn? It looks nothing like your apartment."

But Shawn wasn't dissuaded. "Goddammit, Jordan! Since when do you decide who I see and talk to?"

"This is about your cousin, isn't it?" Jordan guessed, still calm. He was cool as a cucumber, as the businessman he was.

Shawn scowled. "So, you did know he was here?"

Jordan nodded. "I know he was rude and aggressive and had to be escorted from the premises."

"You mean _thrown out_!" Shawn yelled.

"It might have been handled more smoothly Shawn, but all in all I have to say it was for the best," Jordan admitted.

"Kyle is my friend," Shawn insisted.

"He _was_ your friend." Jordan grew sterner as he stood from his desk chair. "Look, a year ago you came to me looking for a new life. Your old one in shambles. Kyle, friend or not, is part of that old life."

"So, what do you want me to do?" Shawn spat. "You want me to just cut him loose and forget he exists?"

"He's no different than your Mother," Jordan listed, "your brother, or you little girlfriend, Rhiannon."

Shawn glared angrily at him, lifting a finger. " _Don't_." He had to pause to reign in his rising frustration and anger at the mention of Rhiannon. "Did she ever come here to see me? Or did you have her escorted out too!?"

"Would you believe whatever I answered that question with?" Jordan asked knowingly. He lied anyway. "Not once has she come looking for you, Shawn. She abandoned you like your family did. They do not understand what it is we're trying to accomplish here."

That harsh answer made Shawn sag, defeated. "Maybe I don't either."

Jordan adopted a blank expression. "Well, then I suggest you pack your bags and leave."

Shawn slowly regarded him and took a seat in the chair next to him. "So, what happens next time you start screaming out in pain?"

"Do what's right for you, Shawn," Jordan answered. "I'll take care of myself."

* * *

Diana let herself into her apartment to see Maia playing go fish with another girl. Alice walked over with Teddy on her hip. "Hey Diana, how was work?"

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Diana apologized quickly. "Who do we have here?"

Maia smiled excitedly. "This is Kerry. She lives downstairs. The UPS man left a package for us by mistake, and when her Mom came to get it, Kerry was with her, and now I'm invited to her birthday party. And it's a sleepover. I can go, right?"

Diana faltered. "Hi Kerry, I'm Diana."

"It's nice to meet you," Kerry smiled sweetly.

"I already said it's okay," Maia frowned, still looking hopeful.

"Well, I think we should probably talk to Kerry's mom, don't you?" Diana posited. But she caved under Maia's puppy dog eyes. "Okay look, you know what? It sounds fine to me."

Maia smiled and rushed over to hug her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Unfortunately, the night didn't go well. Diana was up late pouring over her paperwork for her case when there was a knock at the door. Curious, and just a bit wary, she got up to open the door, seeing Kerry's mom and an in-tears Maia in the hall. Maia sniffled and launched herself into Diana's arms, wrapping her arms around her waist. Diana frowned in confusion and worry. "Maia, what's wrong?"

The other mother explained sadly. "I'm sorry, I know it's late, but Maia really wanted to come home."

Diana looked between her and Maia. "Well, why's that sweetie?"

Maia just cried. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Some of the girls, not my daughter, but some of the other girls, were teasing Maia because she says she has a crush on Frank Sinatra," the other woman told her.

"Old blue eyes. Do you blame her?" Diana shrugged.

"Most nine-year-old's don't even know who Frank Sinatra was," she joked.

"I want to go to bed." Maia ran off to her bedroom.

Diana sighed, looking after her. Kerry's mother was still frowning as well. "I guess it got pretty nasty. I feel terrible. Maybe Maia can come back another time. Just her and Kerry?"

Diana thought and nodded slowly. "Yeah, we'll talk about it. Thank you. Goodnight."

After bidding goodnight, Diana closed the door and walked over into Maia's room, seeing the little laying on her back with her eyes closed. "Maia? I know you didn't fall asleep that fast."

Maia slowly opened her eyes, still frowning. "It was awful, you were right."

"I didn't want to be right," Diana said with a solemn sigh, sitting at the foot of her bed.

"I don't need any friends," Maia grumbled.

"Everyone needs friends, Maia," Diana pointed out. "Maia, I really think we should talk about this."

"Well, I don't," Maia growled, turning over on her side, and closing her eyes.

The next morning, Diana walked into Maia's room, seeing the girl still sound asleep. "Hey, Maia, sweetie. It's wake up time."

"I'm tired," Maia grumbled, keeping her eyes closed.

Diana ambled over and stroked her hair. "Huh? A late night, huh?"

Maia nodded so Diana caved.

"All right, fifteen more minutes." She walked over to Maia's backpack that she packed for the sleepover, putting her clothes away. "You know what? Frank Sinatra is the coolest and don't you let anyone ever tell you different." As she put the clothes away, her hand hit something solid and cardboard. She pulled it out to see a composition notebook titled 'Maia's Diary.' She opened the cover to see the title, 'Things I See.' She would be lying if she said she wasn't tempted to read more of it, but instead, she closed it and put it back where she found it.

She was consumed with thoughts of what could be in that diary, so much so that she went to Marco. As they moved through the hallway later that day, he asked her, "So, you didn't read any of it?"

"Well no," Diana answered as if it should be obvious. "I wouldn't want my daughter reading my diary."

Marco grinned. "You keep a diary?"

Diana guffawed. "Oh, come on."

"So, really, you don't even know if, what she see's, means things during the day," he posited. "TV shows, ponies, whatnot. Or it could be, what she see's a week, a month, a year down the line."

Diana sighed as they walked into the theory room. "No. She hasn't had one of those visions in like, four months."

"Well, that's what she tells you, anyway," Marco implied.

"Well, why would she lie?" Diana asked.

"She wants to be normal, right? Every time she makes a prediction, someone calls her a freak," Marco pointed out. "Look, I understand, you're her Mom now, there are certain protocols. Next time I'm over, why don't I take a peek?"

Diana rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, you think that would be any less of a betrayal?"

Marco nodded, accepting that. "Respecting Maia's privacy is no small thing, but you gotta weigh that against the information that could be in that diary."

"You know what?" Diana said. "When you stop trusting a parent, it's really hard to start again, and yes, I'm speaking from experience."

Marco held his hands up defensively. "Hey, I'm glad it's not my decision. But if Maia's having visions, you should know about it and you should know what they are."

Diana had a lot to think about as an Agent, and a mother.

* * *

Group was just wrapping up for Rio and the others. Ben had morning orientation at the bookstore, so Rio was taking Davey around town while she got her errands done for the day before her shift. They were at the grocery store, and Rio told Davey to pick out cereal and snacks for his time spent at her house while she got the cleaning supplies.

And of course, her cart bumped into someone else's and when she looked up to apologize, she saw Kyle. He laughed easily and said, "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"Neither was I," she assured him. "Didn't I just bring a bunch of groceries to your house?"

"I've been eating crappy NTAC food for the past year," he joked. "I need to make up for lost time."

"And lost popcorn?" she observed, seeing at least three jumbo popcorn boxes inside his cart.

He shrugged, only slightly embarrassed. "Technically, I'm still seventeen mentally. So, I have the diet of a teenager."

"Hey, I'm still a teenager," she joked. "So, I know all about the temptation of junk food."

"Right." He was still carefree until it seemed like something occurred to him. He thought on it and then told her something she was not expecting. "Shawn called me last night. He wants to meet up."

Her face dropped. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, it shocked me too," he said, solemn. "I'm going, obviously. Do you want to come too?" When he saw her face turn, he rushed to amend his question. "I know things ended poorly between you two, but maybe he wants to come back home. I've talked to my Aunt and Danny and they feel horrible, they miss him so much. He should be allowed to see his family."

"That's all well and good, Kyle, but it doesn't mean _I_ have to see _him_ ," Rio pointed out reluctantly. "I didn't cast him out like his mom and Danny. They were repulsed by me too. He left me behind when I was in the street begging him not to go."

Kyle frowned, having mixed feeling about his cousin now, but he had to see him and see who he was now. "Well, I'm seeing him later today. I really think it might help bring him back around if you're there. He's gotta feel guilty, right?"

"Honestly, I don't know if he cares one bit," Rio said. "It was easy enough for him to leave and stay gone. No matter how I felt. I even tried to chase after him. Marched right into that center. I got thrown out, told that he put me on some list of people he didn't want allowed on the premises." She had to take a breath before forcing herself to continue in her usual cavalier tone. "And I've been in Collier's mind – he's selfish and greedy and only has his own self interests in mind. He never cared about Shawn, just his gift and how he could exploit it. He never cared about the other 4400. It makes me wonder why he's even a part of us."

Kyle swallowed a lump in his throat at the obvious pain in her voice as she re-lived how Shawn treated her. "I'm sorry, but maybe I have to see him for myself."

"No, no, go ahead," Rio said quickly. She shook her head, as if to shake free the hang ups she still apparently had. "I'm not trying to discourage you from seeing your cousin. Really. I'm just... I'm not interested in giving him another chance when it comes to our relationship."

He nodded. "I understand. I'll let you know if it goes well."

"I hope it does," she said as he pushed his cart away. "For you."

_We've signed you out, Tess._ She suddenly heard Tom's voice. _No one from NTAC is coming after you._

She internally groaned and pulled out her cell phone to call him. His nervous tone answered her, "Hey, Rio, something wrong?"

"Tom?" she sang warily, grabbing items from the shelves around her and putting them in her cart. "Why are you sneaking Tess out of NTAC?"

"I can't get anything passed you," he joked. "Diana and I are taking her back to the hospital. We have to know what that tower is going to end up becoming."

"If Tess isn't totally coocoo for coco puffs, it's her way to talk to the future," Rio answered. "And I'm guessing you're hoping that's the case so you can get more future guy answers since we were cut short at the beach. You do realize, if you make a total fool of yourself, that Jarvis can force you to resign and you can't do anything to stop her?"

"I get that, but she wants results, I'm gonna get them," he excused as he got into a car.

"If she wanted results bad enough, she'd hire me already," Rio joked. "And you're gonna get yourself into trouble. I'll be listening out for you."

"Can you even hone in on people outside the 4400?" he asked curiously, besides the point.

"I've been practicing." She grinned as she waved at Davey when he walked past her aisle. "Just try to call out for me if you need my kind of help. I've gotten better at the range too."

"I need to convince Jarvis to take you on," he said. "I'll let you know how it goes. Wish us luck."

"Good luck," she said as she hung up her phone. Davey was dumping a couple cereals and a variety pack of lunch chips into the cart. "You got everything you need? I'm ready to check out."

* * *

Kyle was sitting on steps near a water fountain when he heard his cousin's voice behind him for the first time in a long time. "So, you still owe me four or five dollars for those two six packs? Something like that?"

Kyle grinned and turned around. "I've got it right here," he said, patting his front pocket, "if you think you can take it from me."

He and Shawn hugged quickly before Shawn stepped back to look at him. "Look at you man, back among the living. You look great."

"I walk and I talk," Kyle joked. "Seem to have full control of my limbs." He reached out and punched Shawn's shoulder lightly.

Shawn laughed. "You still hit like a girl. Nothing's changed."

"Four years," Kyle pointed out as they started walking. "Plenty's changed."

Shawn frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about? We saw each other right after you got out of the hospital."

Kyle scratched his head. "I don't remember any of that."

"You don't?" Shawn seemed surprised. "So, you don't remember sitting naked in the sprinklers."

Kyle fought an embarrassed grin. "No. Sounds like something you'd do."

"Well..." he joked back.

"Thank you." Kyle got serious again. "I never got a chance to say that. For getting me out of the coma, thank you."

Shawn shrugged off the gratitude, not wanting to think about his 'gift.' "You know, if it hadn't of been for me, you wouldn't have been in that stupid hospital, anyway, so..."

"Then I'd have been the one who'd have disappeared into 4400 bootcamp. Maybe I'd have come back with the magic hands," he joked back, raising his hands, fingers spread out mystically.

Shawn guffawed and slapped his hands away. "All right, all right."

"Speaking of disappearing, you jerk," he changed the subject, gently shoving his cousin.

"Oh Kyle," Shawn belly ached, "don't go there yet!"

"Don't go there?" Kyle scoffed. "Your mom is so freaked out. You haven't seen her in a year. You haven't seen anybody. Your brother. My Dad. Not to mention the number you did on Rhiannon."

"Rhiannon?" Shawn's voice pitched, looking at Kyle. "You know about Rio?"

"I've met her, hung out with her," he revealed. "She tried pretty hard to convince me that she's over you. But I can tell that she's still cut up about you leaving."

"I'm sorry that I hurt her," Shawn sighed. "But I made the right choice for me."

"I've been to that place where you're living," Kyle pointed out. "There's some serious Stepford Wives vibes going on there. You know that, right? All that stuff about unlocking the 4400 inside everybody."

"Yeah?"

"You don't really believe Collier can do that, do you?" Kyle asked, hopefully.

"Kyle, look around us man," Shawn waved around them. "The world is in a total free fall. These centers, they're a chance to bring people together. Maybe our last chance. I don't just believe that he can do it. I believe that he has to do it."

Kyle frowned, realizing that maybe Rio was right about how culty Collier's place was, and what his cousin could have gotten himself into. "It's all that stuff they've got inside your head."

Shawn frowned at his cousin's back, Collier's words with him earlier echoing in his head. "He said you wouldn't understand."

Kyle whirled around and scowled. "Collier?"

Shawn shrugged. "Yeah."

"I gotta tell you man, he was right," Kyle said. "Rio told me she's been in his head, she's seen how manipulative he is, that all he cares about is himself. He's a liar."

"Why are you so worked up over Rio?" Shawn asked, vaguely jealous.

Kyle scoffed. "You don't get it. She's done nothing but help people with her gift or without it. She's such a good person and you hurt her. I cannot imagine what Collier could have offered you that would better than what you had with her."

* * *

_"You were so beautiful when we were there. All dressed in gold, a gold dress and robe."_

Rio was mostly running her old conversation with Tess in her head as she sat in the middle of her room trying to channel her or anyone else at the asylum. Things were getting messy there. Diana had been affected. Tom really hadn't, but he was compelled by his need to know more about what future guy on the beach was trying to tell them.

_"There were doctors there. They were nice. All of them. We slept a lot, but not all the time. We wore grey clothes. Except you, Rhiannon. They put you in gold, like them…"_

There was something at the edge there, buried. She remembered how she'd seen her own face in Tess' head. They must have met some day while they were gone. But Tess didn't remember. Or she didn't remember that she remembered. Rio didn't remember either – not really. Something was tickling the back of her head as she tried to focus on the whole mess back at the hospital.

_"There's a giant building. The doctors wore shiny jackets. I miss it so much. Our rooms had round windows. Our doorways with arches in them. The stones had writing in them. Math symbols or something. Inscriptions. Jars of purplish metals and rods with stained tips."_

A pressure built up in her frontal lobe. Her own voice slightly echoed in her head. But she didn't remember having said any of it.

_"Primal myth and modern delusion joined in their assumption that mankind is only one—perhaps the least—of the highly evolved and dominant races of this planet's long and largely unknown career."_

Repeating the words in a whisper over and over again, she went to her compute and typed them into the search engine. The first result was;

'Quote by HP Lovecraft: The Shadow Out Of Time'

A quick read told her what she needed to know and know that the others were in trouble. And she had to try and help, clearance be damned

* * *

Shawn was in a foul mood when he returned to the 4400 center, pushing open the doors to see Collier waiting. "Shawn, I've been looking for you."

"Yeah, I took a walk," he responded shortly.

"We have a special visitor tonight," Collier informed him. "She has pancreatic cancer. Her husband is willing to donate real estate for a 4400 center in Los Angeles."

Shawn answered him, "Well, tonight doesn't really work for me, Jordan," as he began trekking upstairs.

"Well, you have five, six hours, to get in the mood," Collier consulted his watch.

Shawn gave him a look. "Mood's got nothing to do with it. I'm just not working tonight."

* * *

Nina stormed into the theory room. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

Marco played along as he read an H.P. Lovecraft novel at his table that passed for a desk. "About what?"

Nina scowled. "Baldwin and Skouris signed Tess Doerner out of here and took her back to Evenson."

"They're rebuilding the tower," he guessed in wonder.

"That would be one theory," she said as her phone rang. She barked her, "Hello," to the receiver.

"Hi, you don't know me yet," Rio's mysteriously chipper voice answered her. "But you definitely should head down to that asylum. Diana's been swept up in the ant drone mayhem, along with Tom. I think I can try to intercept the mind control and stop it. But I figured I'd get some backup. That's where you come in."

Nina internally sighed.

* * *

Rio was already waiting for Nina, Marco, and their SWAT team at the small back entrance. She decided to ditch the greetings and her sarcastic comments and cut right to business. "I can't physically get in. I've been able to break the spell on a couple people, but the masses are still at work and claiming they're almost finished."

"It's all not real," Marco told her as Nina led the team through the asylum halls to try and break the door down to get into the courtyard.

"I know that," Rio said. "I dug into Tess' head again. She got all the ideas from some book."

"Shadow Out Of Time." Marco held up his copy of the short story.

"Right," she said, "that's what Google called it," as they followed through just as Nina was yelling.

"Last time, Baldwin. Unlock the door."

He was leaning against the door, looking desperate, constantly looking between them and the masses working. "I can't do that. You said you wanted results."

"Listen to me, Baldwin," she tried to appeal to him. "You are not in your right mind. These are not the results that I was talking about. Now, step away before you get hurt." She signaled her men and they started trying to break the door down as Tom tried to hold it closed.

"Wait, wait, wait," he shouted. "Just wait, just wait! We need answers. That tower might provide them. Just listen, listen to me. It's a risk, I know. But sometimes when you want to get to the truth, you have to take a leap of faith. Just listen to me."

"Tom?" Rio stepped forward, pulling Marco behind her. "Just because Tess really believes that what she's saying is true, doesn't mean it is. None of us remember where we were taken. She's not an exception, I promise."

"She's right," Marco said, holding up his book. "Tess Doerner's memories of the future? They're not memories. She read them in a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. Shadow Out Of Time. I have it right here." He pulled the book open to a certain page and held it up. "I underlined some of the passages that show up verbatim in your report. They're just another delusion."

Tom read the underlined words and shook his head. "No."

"I'm sorry, Tom," Marco said with a sigh.

Nina pulled Rio and Marco away from the door as her men began repeatedly battering the door to get it down. They broke through into the courtyard, Nina yelling, "Step away from that tower!"

Diana moved just a few inches away from some switch, but then stepped back and switched it on. The tower made some rough whirring noises as it powered on. The weathervane at the top began to point the opposite direction as a high-pitched noise gained volume and emanated out with so much power that everyone got knocked to the ground.

Rio groaned, feeling a pressure building in her head so painful, she had to press her hands to her cranium and press down, trying to find relief.

"Rhiannon?" she heard Marco's concerned voice.

"Where are you?" She heard Tess' anguished voice. "Where are you? Where are you?"

"Let's get everybody back inside," Dr. Clayton said. "I need a full head count before the next round of medications."

"Where are you?" Tess cried. "I did what you wanted, right? Talk to me."

"Come on, Tess," Dr. Clayton soothed her. "We all could use some rest."

She swayed into his side as he held her up. She peered up at him in a confused heartbroken expression. "They lied to me. Or did I lie to you?"

_It's going to be okay. Everything is going to plan._

Rio groaned as the ringing finally stopped and the pressure relieved inside her head. Marco was helping her sit up as Tom and Diana huddled around her. Tom asked, "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I really can't tell. Just feels like a migraine. Like how I used to get when my powers first manifested themselves."

"Maybe it was the pulse," Diana cooed. She had grown more maternal after having lived with Maia for a while, helping Rio to her feet with Marco's help.

Nina walked over. "Norad said the pulse disappeared before it left the atmosphere. Could be, all that sound and fury was for absolutely nothing. Now, our first priority is to help the hospital personnel restore order here. I want all of you who were infected with this thing, to be checked out by NTAC medical."

"Are you including me in that order, cuz I'm not sure..." Tom trailed off.

"You were infected," Rio cut in sternly. "I can testify to that."

_Play along or she'll boot your ass to the curb, Tom._

Tom hid the flinch from the sudden voice in his head, Rio's voice. She had never put a thought in his head like that, communicating in his mind. But he took her direction and nodded to Nina. "I was definitely infected."

Nina smirked, knowing it was all a charade. "I thought so."

Clayton ambled over. "We could use a little help, policing the area here. We need to get rid of these tools before one of the patients hurts themselves."

"There's someone new here," Rio suddenly realized aloud.

Nina looked at her. "What do you mean?" Meanwhile, she gestured for her personnel to help Clayton.

"There's new brainwaves here," Rio repeated. "I could take a mind count when we got here, but there's one new person around now all of the sudden."

"Excuse me, Dr. Clayton!" a masculine voice called out.

Rio looked over as Clayton turned to Kevin, the practically comatose patient that Tess was so fond of. He seemed shocked. Beyond shocked. A feather could knock him over. "Kevin? Did you just speak to me?"

Kevin realized it as well. "Yes, I did. I haven't said anything for a long time."

"Try six years," Clayton grinned, in awe.

"I can think again, too," he breathed. "I don't know what happened. I feel better!"

Nina looked to Rio after watching the conversation. "Maybe I should listen to Baldwin about some things."

Rio grinned. "Maybe you should."

* * *

Shawn balked as he flipped through photos of him and Kyle talking that Collier had just handed him. "You had me followed?"

"I could have had your conversation recorded," Collier revealed, as if he were being a gentleman. "I just thought that might be pushing it."

"Kyle was right," Shawn spat. "I'm some kind of prisoner."

"Shawn, I've told you, you can leave here anytime you want, and I meant it," Collier replied with faux sincerity and patience. "But until you do, I will not allow these shadows from your past, to alter your perceptions of what it is we're trying to accomplish here. You're too important."

"No, you mean, you need help bringing the big checks," Shawn accused.

"Shawn, the money is a means to an end," Collier insisted. "The goal is what matters. Ensure the future. Save the planet. I can't do that without you."

* * *

"Obviously, mums the word on whatever you hear in this room," Nina thinly warned Rio as they sat in the theory room.

Marco pulled up a profile on Kevin, putting it on the big screen at the end of the room. "You want proof that the future works in mysterious ways? Look no further than Mr. Kevin Burkoff."

Tom glowered, obviously disappointed. "Yeah, instead of contacting the future, we got him."

"Not as disappointing as it might seem at first flush," Marco eagerly responded. "Burkhoff was a tenured Professor of neuro-chemistry at Standford University."

"That makes sense," Rio murmured. "I could barely keep up with his thoughts when he got his brain back in working order. He has to be the ripple Tess was meant to help along."

"Just wait, there's more," Marco grinned. "Only a handful of people work at the top of the field at any given time. Our Mr. Burkoff was the heir apparent. Until he suffered his first delusion at the age of 30. He was institutionalized two years later."

"I'm waiting for the ripple," Rio urged him.

"You want a ripple effect?" Marco challenged, wanting to put on his show and reveal with gusto. "How's this? Burkoff specialized in dormant neural pathways. He was trying to wake up parts of the brain that we can't use."

"Parts that do what?" Nina asked impatiently.

"Precognition. Telekinesis," he listed. "Stop me if any of this sounds familiar."

"Maia Rutledge. Orson Bailey," Tom realized.

Marco gestured to Rhiannon excitedly. "And our very own hero, the telepath!"

Rio gestured to Burkoff's photo on the big screen in disbelief. "You're suggesting that this guy is responsible for me being the way I am? He's, what, the creator of the technology they used to take us and change us and put us back, all for the salvation of humankind?"

"And we just woke him up," Diana spoke.

* * *

On her way out, Nina called Rhiannon into her office. "Tom and Diana seem dead-set on involving you in their top-secret cases no matter what I say and what leverage I have over them."

"In their defense, I tend to involve myself," Rio said sheepishly. "I'm like a HAM radio for the 4400. Are you aware of what happened with the Friday Harbor Killer?"

"I know you were pretty instrumental in bringing him down without him turning one of our agents into a homicidal Ripper drone," Nina admitted with begrudging respect. "Look, I'm not gonna pretend that I'm totally comfortable with giving a member of the 4400 clearance into our cases. But I'm not stupid. You're in tune with over four thousand individuals, a good chunk of which have some extra abilities, the likes of which I can't even take a guess at. They call out to you, whether or not anyone wants them to. Might as well put that to good use on our side."

Rio grinned. "So, you're bringing me in, finally?"

"I can't make you an agent," she said sternly. "Obviously. But I can give you a consultant position, access to my office, Baldwin and Scouris' office, the theory room and the gym and rec area. You'll need basic training to be allowed out in the field. And I'd like you to work on your powers here as well."

"And the paycheck?" Rio hinted, taking a seat in front of Nina's desk.

Nina hid her amused smile. "You'll have a salary, with room for growth as I monitor your improvements."

"We'll have to discuss the finer details, I want a contract," Rhiannon told her. "I'll have to give in my notice at the bookstore I work at. And I'm not giving up the support group I hold. I can move them to make it in here on time. And I also want to make it very clear, that I'm not going to be a 4400 wrangler. I'm here to help them and stop the dangerous ones like Knox."

"Understood," Nina said shortly. "Give in your notice. I'll have a contract sent to your house within 24 hours."

* * *

Shawn sighed, feeling a deep self-disgust in his gut as Collier led in a couple into his suite. He knew he didn't want to be here anymore. He was being used. He knew Rhiannon was right about all of it. He just wanted to go back home, back to her. But the other part of him knew he could help people.

* * *

Diana snuck into Maia's bedroom, creeping over and snagging the diary on her bedside table. She went into her living room and settled on the couch, reading the predictions. At first, they were innocent and made her smile.

_Next door is going to get a kitten. Hope she let's me play with it._

_There's going to be a book on how we all came back..._

_We get to be a real family..._

_A computer for christmas..._

But then something caught her eye that worried her more than anything else she could have read short of her or Maia's death.

_Mommy's bosses will be punished for betraying us..._


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FOUR

Rio idly chatted with Davey while driving him back to her house with the Hudsons from group early that morning. It was her first official day at NTAC after some legal and psychological hoops, so she had group early and was heading in for her first training session. Davey was a little glum that she was no longer working at the bookstore. But at least he would still see her at the Hudsons and group.

"Don't worry, we'll see each other all the time," she assured the boy. "And I trained Ben myself before I left the bookstore. He's fitting right in. This job will stick, I'm sure of it."

"I think so too," Davey quietly murmured while they arrived at the Hudson house. As always, Rio pointedly ignored the Farrell house as she walked Davey into the house.

"Sarah said she was gonna make breakfast. A big one too. She's also making me dress all professional for my first official day as a NTAC consultant."

"Are you going to wear a suit?" Davey asked with a little grin.

"Not if I can help it," Rio muttered before they followed the smell of waffles into the kitchen.

Sarah had a big smile on her face when she saw them. "There you are! How was group? I made breakfast. Also, Rio, your outfit is hanging up in your room. And I need to make sure it fits well before you go to work."

Rio sullenly bit into a waffle set out and chugged the juice. "Fine, fine. I gotta get ready now anyway." She skipped upstairs to her room and blanched at the outfit Sarah had picked out for her. It looked like something Sarah wore back in the day when she was in the work force. But Rio had promised to shed the band t-shirt aesthetic for this new position. She put on the charcoal colored dress pants, loose red blouse, and black blazer, as well as a pair of Sarah's boots. Feeling completely off and not at all like herself, she went downstairs to grab an apple and take off.

"Oh, you look professional," Sarah gushed. "It fits you like a glove. They won't recognize you when you walk into HQ."

"And that's a good thing?" Rio murmured, taking an apple and ruffling Davey's hair. "I'm out of here. I'll see you later."

"Bye honey," Sarah called after her as she left.

On her way in, she decided to check in with Kyle.

"Hey, Rio," his voice answered the phone.

"Hey Mr. College Man," she greeted him with a smile playing on her face. "Excited for the first day of classes?"

"I never thought I'd say so, but yes," he chuckled. "We can't all skip higher education and work for the government."

"Hey, I don't work for the man, he just signs my paychecks now," she joked. "I'm just checking in on my way in for my first day."

"Nervous?" he sang jokingly back.

"No. Yes. I don't know," Rio said with an inward grimace. "Sarah put me in a business outfit and now I feel like I should be working in sales somewhere for a department store. What about you? Any freshman nerves?"

"As long as registration goes okay, I'll be fine," he said.

"Well, it should be fine. I made sure your dad sent the check, and all you have to do is sign up for some general ed classes and… the rest of college stuff people do," she said. "I don't know, keg parties, streaking, all night study sessions. Just no frats, please."

Kyle laughed. "All right, I promise. But good luck for your first day. I know you'll do great."

"Good luck to you too," Rio said before they said their goodbyes and hung up. She carefully parked in the designated lot Jarvis told her to park and took a deep breath, staring up at the big building. She checked in on a regular basis when she was just a returnee. But now she was entering as a consultant.

It felt weird as she got out of her car and started walking up to the building. A voice called out, "Well, if it isn't our very own Agent Starling! I almost didn't recognize you."

She turned her head to see Marco coming up behind her, bag hanging at his hip and glasses about to fall down his nose. "Who is Agent Starling?" she asked while pushing his glasses up to place.

He gaped at her while holding the door open. "Don't tell me you haven't seen Silence of the Lambs!"

"Did it come out after 1988?" she asked, flashing her credentials at the desk and getting onto an elevator with Marco.

"'91," he responded.

"I haven't had a lot of time to catch up on pop culture," she replied. "I've been more concentrated on this whole save the future destiny thing."

"I work all the time, and even I have time to watch movies," he retorted. He quietly sipped his coffee from the to-go cup in hand and looked at her through his peripheral vision. "Are you ready for your first day at NTAC?"

"I've only been haranguing your boss for the position for months," she said, fiddling with the hem of her blazer.

"Doesn't mean you're ready," Marco said wisely.

Her head lolled to the side to look at him peering at her like he could see right through her. "Fine, so I'm not one hundred percent. I thought _I_ was the telepath?"

"But I'm the genius," he pointed out at the elevator doors opened.

"I'll be… me," she said lamely.

"You'll be great," he corrected her, tipping an invisible hat, and going on his way. But he paused to turn around and say with a shit eating grin, "Oh, and—love the outfit."

She rolled her eyes, telling him goodbye and making her way to Jarvis' office to check in. Tom and Diana hid their grins as best as they could as they complimented her consultant look.

"Sarah dressed me," she complained. "I look ridiculous."

"No, you don't," Diana refuted.

"You really don't," Tom tried to reassure her. "You just don't look like… you."

"I sincerely doubt Jarvis would appreciate my band t-shirts and ripped jeans in an office setting," Rio said.

"You'll get into your own groove here, don't worry," Diana assured her before getting her on with her first day.

She was quickly given instructions to meet her mentor agent. Agent Hilliard. She was a statuesque woman with platinum hair and dark green eyes and a sailor's mouth. She was also an expert marksman, champion sprinter, and black belt. Rio was actually excited to get trained by her.

It started a little boring for her tastes and attention span. Especially when an 'accidental' cursory glance into Hilliard's mind told her all she needed to know about the gym location and equipment, the pool, and basic floorplan of the building. That and she'd already been in the building many times before. But looking into someone's mind wouldn't give her a physical practical knowledge of how to fight and defend herself.

"For basic training, no powers," Agent Hilliard told her. "Then when I think you understand the moves and can use your eyes to look at my posture and correctly anticipate my moves, we'll have you use your powers to predict my moves and see how fast you can act. We'll also cover basic strength training and endurance. Sound good?"

"Sounds like what I signed up for," Rio said shortly. "Can I get out of this monkey suit now?"

Hilliard grinned widely. "As soon as you sign the release forms, yes."

* * *

Meanwhile, Tom was exasperatedly dropping a surveillance picture of a dubious character talking to Jordan Collier onto Jarvis' desk. "Ian Dravitt. Founder and CEO of executive projections, a multinational corporation based in Zimbabwe."

Diana added, "Your company wants to do business in a third world country, they'll show you the lay of the land. It's all perfectly legitimate—"

"Yeah, on the surface, but Dravitt's real money comes from mercenary activity and arms dealing," Tom finished. "Sold grenade launchers to the I.R.A., white phosphorus landmines to the shining path guerrillas in Peru so what's he selling to Collier? Good question, but our observation teams can't even tell you what time Collier takes lunch." He was beyond frustrated with how impenetrable the 4400 center was proving to be. Especially with Collier at the head, and Shawn right under his deceitful wing.

"Beyond the lobby, that place is a mystery. I mean, we've sent our agents in disguised as air conditioning guys, fiber optics repairmen—" Diana listed out.

"Yeah, we get a bug in, it's yanked before the day is over," Tom huffed. "Probably sweeping the place every few hours. As far as Collier's pow-wows with Dravitt all we can do is guess."

"You think he's stockpiling weapons?" Jarvis asked, peering at the file.

"Oh, arms, anthrax—nothing would surprise me," Diana shrugged. "I mean, Collier's all but said he's at war with the U.S. government."

"Could be laying down a defense perimeter around the center," Tom suggested. "That way, if we ever have to go in there, he'll be ready."

"Think Waco. Jonestown," Diana said solemnly.

They were interrupted by the phone ringing and Jarvis immediately picking up. "Jarvis—I'll send them down."

* * *

Rio was dragged away from the middle of her first ever NTAC training session by Tom and Diana and was not only angry at the interruption, but also at the reason.

"You have a new telepath in the building, begging for help, and you're gonna use him as a mole for the 4400 center?" she asked them shrilly as she followed them to the conference room where they were going to walk Gary through the whole thing.

"Jarvis' call, not ours," Tom excused. "We'll be with him the whole way. And as long as he's on his meds, he'll be fine."

"You sound naïve," Rio said as they walked into the room where Gary was waiting. Rio felt sorry for this guy. She remembered when her gift was brand new. Being flooded with everyone's inner thoughts. The headache, the pain, the information she didn't want or need. And as soon as she got a hold on it, it expanded. While she found purpose with it, Gary seemed like he just wanted to get on with the second shot at life that was robbed from him when he got taken.

"Hi Gary, I'm Rhiannon, but you can call me Rio," she introduced herself when she walked into the room. "I'm the telepath they just added to the payroll."

"Hi," he said slowly as he shook her hand. He seemed confused as to why he was even there. It seemed Jarvis didn't even tell him the plan and left that to Tom and Diana too.

Which the duo reluctantly did, all the while trying to reassure him that they would be with him one hundred percent of the way and he could leave any time he wanted.

He turned his face up to where she was standing in the corner of the room. "Why can't you do it?"

Rio sighed. "They know me there. Know my gift. They would never trust me. Otherwise, I would."

Gary nodded, contemplating. He looked at the agents. "What if they catch me?"

"We'll be monitoring you every step of the way," Diana reiterated. "We plant a tiny transmitter/receiver behind your ear under the skin. Takes 10 minutes, no scar. If things go south, we'll be in there like the cavalry."

Gary clenched his hands together on the table. "When I was a kid, my, uh my favorite show was the Man from UNCLE. My little brother is retiring from the Tacoma police force at the end of the year. He's 53. The guys I played ball with? The ones that made it to the majors are signing autographs at card shows. Now the game is all I have, yeah."

"I get that," Tom sighed.

"What, did you play ball?" Gary asked.

He nodded. "Senior year in college I blew my knee out trying to slide under a tag."

"What position?" Tom chuckled.

"Third base."

Gary chuckled with him this time. "Another infielder, huh? You miss it?"

Tom almost looked nostalgic as he said, "All the time." He leaned forward, toward Gary. "What we do here, Gary what we're asking you to do for us it's not the world series but it's pretty damn important."

Gary gulped. "I do this for you guys you're gonna fix me, right?"

"You have my word."

* * *

Rio wasn't officially sanctioned to go out into the field yet. She wasn't even told where the van was going to be parked outside the center. But no secrets were one hundred percent hidden to her with her abilities. So, after a couple days of being frozen out of the op, she let herself into the surveillance van with Tom and Diana.

"Rio, what are you doing here!?" Tom asked as she quickly shut the van door and parked herself between them.

"Looking out for Gary," she answered matter-of-factly. "Where is he now?"

"One of his classes," Diana said. "Hasn't been able to talk to Collier since his first day, unfortunately. But it's okay. These things take time."

"He still has a small range on the mind thing, huh?" Rio guessed. "Almost killed me when my range expanded, especially honing in on 4400. How's he doing?"

Tom covered his mic to tell her covertly. "Not so good. They took his haloperidol."

Rio gaped at him. "They what!?"

"Mr. Navarro, is something wrong?" they heard someone say over the earpiece in Gary's head.

"This is no good. I need my haloperidol. Where's Collier?" he demanded, and they could hear the scraping of a chair.

"Mr. Collier's in a meeting," a woman said. "Mr. Navarro? Mr. Navarro!"

Diana leaned into her mic. "Gary, what's wrong?"

"J-just got to talk to Collier," he stammered.

"That's not a good idea, Gary," Tom cautioned him.

But it went unheeded. They could hear a door bang open and another woman say, "Mr. Navarro—he's in a meeting!"

But then they heard another door bang open and Gary start begging in a strained voice, "Make it stop. Please, make it stop. Make it stop. I need my medication."

"Whatever's eating you, old son, we'll make it stop," a deep and chilling accented voice said. Rio could tell it was this Dravitt guy they were after. "Count on that."

Rio could hear the cocking of a gun. "They're going to shoot him!"

Diana and Tom shared a tense look.

"A 4400 who can read minds?" they heard Collier ponder. "So, you do have an ability. You shouldn't have lied to me, Gary."

Rio felt a flash of anger ignite her at the sound of Collier's voice.

"You mean to tell me that this guy knows what I'm thinking?" Dravitt growled. "Because I do not like anyone inside my head but me."

"Jordan, this guy's one of us," she heard Shawn say. It was the first time she'd heard his voice in a year. "We can't just stand here and let him get killed."

"Nobody's killing anyone," Collier said sternly.

"First, we determine what our man here knows and then we discuss his fate. Because there are things I know that could get you killed! That could get all of you killed!" Dravitt yelled.

"Let's go!" Tom said, he and Diana gearing up quickly to get out of the van.

"Call Jarvis. Tell her we're going in," Diana told the agent in the driver's seat as the three of them raced out towards the 4400 center.

Rio kept her mind tuned into the room around Gary to watch out for him. She almost tripped while running behind Diana and Tom. _Look, Ian—_ _Shut up! Shut up now!_

"Hi. I'm Evan. Welcome to the 4400 center." They all ignored the lackey and gunned for the second floor.

"Second level's not open to visitors," a guard tried to stop him.

"We're not visitors," Tom said, flashing his badge. Rio took a break from listening in on Gary and delved into the three guards' minds to make them freeze up. Tom and Diana paused just a minute to stare at her when they noticed.

"Let's go!" she shouted at them, continuing to run for the second level. She flinched as she refocused on Jordan's office and could feel Shawn using his gift. Not to heal, but to hurt. There was some kind of confrontation with one of Dravitt's men and Shawn was responding. It almost gave Rio goosebumps as she remembered him using that ability for the first time in a High School fight.

_The boys lunged at each other, flipping over the stone railing and into the grass next to them. Shawn rolled over on top of Brad and held his face into the dirt ground. Brad started choking and gasping. Rio pushed herself to the front of the gathering crowd and her eyes widened when she saw Brad getting paler, his skin almost turning blue as bruises formed under his eyes, "Shawn! That's enough, Shawn!"_

Rio shook herself out of the flashback as she heard commotion erupt in the room. _What the hell's he doing to him? Let him go, or so help me, I'll splatter your brains all over your highly polished floor._ _Now, that is enough._ Rio was taking the lead until they got to Jordan's office door and Tom pulled her back so he and Diana could force their way into the room, guns out.

"Drop that weapon! Now!" Shawn dropped the thug he was draining as the other two dropped their guns to the ground and rose their hands up almost habitually.

Shawn gaped when he noticed Rio come in behind Tom and Diana. "Rhiannon!"

Rio ignored him. "Gary!" She raced to Gary's side and knelt in front of his seated form. "Look at me, take my hand."

He did so, breathing heavily. He looked just like she supposed she did when her ability got too painful for her.

"How the hell did you get in here?" Jordan demanded.

"You don't sound so happy to see us," Diana commented.

Rio delved into Gary's mind, blocking everyone else out as she tried to quiet the noise in his head. He was almost in tears as he looked at her. "How are you doing that?"

"Not entirely sure, I'm just winging this. Just relax," she told him.

"Well, now. What in the hell is this?" Dravitt shouted.

"NTAC agents," Jordan said. He looked to them like a disapproving father. "I don't appreciate the government interfering in my business."

"Shut up!" Rio growled at the man she absolutely detested.

"You should be more careful who you do business with," Tom remarked.

Gary groaned as Rio coached him to use her shoulders to support himself while they both stood up. He muttered to her and Tom, "They're not buying weapons. They're planning a coup overseas, some tiny country."

"You sent a spy in here, Uncle Tommy?" Shawn looked at his Uncle. "Good job. You almost got us all killed."

"You too, Mr. Dravitt," Diana told the thuggish leader, cuffing him and beginning to escort him out of the room.

"Well, it'll be interesting to see if your friend's impressions will stand up in court," Dravitt said. He glared at Jordan. "I guess I'm the one should be more careful who I do business with."

"Shawn, you can come with us if you want," Tom beseeched his nephew.

For a minute moment, Shawn's eyes locked on Rio's and it looked like he wanted to leave. He was completely against working with Dravitt and seemed so conflicted. But ultimately, his silence was his answer.

Tom frowned deeply and said, "Great. I'll tell your mother you said hello."

"Gary, you should have come to me first," Jordan told the ball player. "I'd have treated you better than they ever will." He stared right into his eyes and thought, _We're at war here. Don't pick the losing side._

Either he didn't realize Rio would hear it too or didn't care. But she still had a response for him. _Go to Hell, Collier, you toxic piece of shit,_ she projected to his mind as she helped walk Gary out of the room behind Tom and Diana and their collars.

* * *

Her first week wasn't even over yet when Rio found herself almost regretting signing up to work with NTAC. The reason – Tom just told her that Jarvis was _lending_ Gary to the NSA to spy on some diplomats for them. It was like she'd never intended to help Gary and let NTAC medical work on quieting the voices in his head. His gift was a weaker version of hers but just as painful and she was so angry that NTAC was turning Tom into a liar. He'd sworn they would help Gary. And now he was a tool for the government meant to help him.

To take out her anger and frustration, Rio changed into workout gear she'd had the foresight to pack and was beating the Hell out of a hanging sandbag with some of the punches Agent Hilliard had had the time to show her. Some of her curls escaped her bun as it lobbed around her head, dripping with sweat over her eyes.

"Heard you had a rough first case," Marco's voice made her pause in her one-sided fight.

She was panted a little as she removed her gloves. "Wasn't even officially assigned to me and I think I would call it a total bust."

"Well, according to Diana, not totally," he said as she collapsed onto a bench. He sat next to her. "We now know that Jordan was basically trying to get his own island for some reason."

"A reason that can't be good," she muttered. "And now Jarvis has just handed Gary over to the NSA like he's nothing more than surveillance equipment. If I didn't know a lawyer from group who thought to include an exclusivity clause in my contract, she might've tried the same bullshit with me."

Marco took a seat next to her and said, "Something we have to relearn a lot in this line of work is that we can't save everyone and there's always something else going on in the background."

"And we're supposed to be okay with it?" she questioned, leaning her elbows on her knees, and glaring at the ground. "Jarvis seems to have mixed motives about everything. Almost everyone in power does these days. And even within this building, surrounded by people that are meant to help others, including those like me, it's hard to know who to trust."

"There are obvious pitfalls with this work, I know," he said softly. "But you _have_ to take away the victories. The good you get to do and still can do. With your ability or without. You helped us catch the Friday Harbor Killer. You help people in your group every week, and that's completely independent of anything you do with NTAC resources. You're part of this bigger plan meant to help save humanity. You just have to trust that you're meant to help a lot of people no matter where you are or how you're doing it, and that you can."

Rio sighed softly and turned her face towards Marco, resting her chin in her hand. "Thanks, Einstein."

Marco playfully tutted at her. "Einstein? I prefer Tesla."

She snorted and sat up to knock her shoulder into his. "Tesla it is."

* * *

Alice was humming 'I'll Be Seeing You' lowly as she dried the last of the dishes from the dishwasher. She'd slowly gotten used to a lot of technology that helped do household cleaning for her, but she had read up on how much power it took to have the dishwasher dry the dishes, so she opted to do so herself as she put them away. She liked to do some things herself still. Ethan and Teddy were there to help. By help, it meant Teddy toddling around the dishwater to try and pull out silverware and hand it to her. And Ethan offering to put something away only to have to ask her where it went because he shut the cabinet door. Still, she indulged them and was endlessly amused by their 'help.'

When the chore was done, it was time to dirty dishes again with dessert. Teddy loved caramel ice cream and she had her cookie dough. Ethan wasn't fussy with dessert and would often pretend to steal bites from Teddy when he really swiped some of hers when the toddler protested.

Ethan set the toddler up in his recently cleaned highchair while she got the ice cream. Teddy almost immediately made a mess trying to eat his ice cream with his hand instead of his dinosaur shaped spoon.

"Oh, little man, you missed your mouth again," Ethan said playfully as he wiped Teddy's cheek with his bib. "Here, try again." He helped little Teddy get a spoonful of ice cream directly into his mouth.

When dessert was over, Ethan rinse the dishes and put them into the dishwasher while Alice gave Teddy a bath, and ended up as soaked as him as he played with his new pirate ship in the tub. She freshened up while Ethan dried and dressed Teddy for bed.

They both crawled in with him to read him a story. Well, Ethan read the story while Alice stroked her son's hair and listened along.

"Again, again!" Teddy cheered when Ethan was done reading.

"You know the rules, bambino," Alice softly told her baby boy. "It's bedtime."

"Not bedtime," the toddler said, grabbing for Ethan's hand on the book. "Daddy – hand."

Ethan smiled bemusedly as he left the toddler drag his hand away from the kids book and hold onto his fingers tightly.

Teddy reached towards his mother with his other hand. "Mommy – hand!" Alice frowned at first at the unusual request but of course took her baby's hand and held him close, kissing his head. There was a weird sound around them all of the sudden. Like rushing wind. Odd for such a still night. And just as suddenly, the little family of three disappeared. Gone without a trace.


End file.
